Race #5- Escape from Alcatraz, June 3

Here are the unique elements of this historic race:

1.5 – Mile Swim

A plunge into the icy cold waters off the coast of Alcatraz island starts the race. Amateur triathletes are loosely grouped into their age-groups and jump from the deck of the Horn Blower one minute after the Professionals. All athletes will face strong currents, treacherous 57-degree water temperatures and two-ton sea lions before arriving at the Marina Green beach adjacent to the St. Francis Yacht Club.

Warm-Up Run

Upon escaping out of the water, triathletes will immediately be faced with a decision on whether they will proceed to the first transition area to remove their wetsuits and/or don their running shoes or directly run barefoot for ½ mile from the St. Francis Yacht Club to the Marina Green transition area.

18-Mile Bike

Mounting their bikes at Marina Green, triathletes will start the 18-mile ride heading west into Crissy Field via Marina Boulevard immediately up a short but steep climb. Cyclists then travel through the Presidio and up the hill to the Palace of the Legion of Honor Museum looping through the streets of San Francisco past city landmarks, through Golden Gate Park, along the Great Highway and returning to Marina Green for the final transition to the run.

8-Mile Run

Triathletes will begin the 8-mile run to Baker Beach Battery by leaving Marina Green heading west into Crissy Field, turning right to run along the shoreline of the Golden Gate Promenade and then under the Golden Gate Bridge. From there runners will negotiate the off-road trails within Presidio Headlands, the Coast Trail to Lincoln Boulevard and run above the Coastal Bluffs until they arrive at Baker Beach. Runners will encounter deep sand and pounding surf and the notoriously-dreaded 400-step Sand Ladder. Athletes then cross back under the Golden Gate Bridge and return to sea level, where the finish line is within sight!

Some said it could not be done…

but not for nearly 2000 triathletes!

Sherwick 2:38:48, 26^th age-group, 167^th overall

“My first glimpse into triathlon was ABC’s telecast of the Hawaii Ironman. I vowed to do that race in my life time and was fortunate enough to qualify and race that event three times. My second glimpse into triathlon was watching Mike Pigg win the Escape from Alcatraz on TV. “This is insane!”, I thought after seeing Pigg Power (as he was called) race across the bay, over the San Francisco hills, through the tunnel and up the sand ladder. I vowed to compete in this race as well and in 1996 I completed my first Escape from Alcatraz triathlon in 2:41:24 followed by a second Escape in 2:27:04 for 1997. 2007 would mark my third adventure in San Francisco and I was looking to improve upon my times 4^th place age-group result in 1997. I was eager with excitement in anticipation of what 2007 would reveal.

I had not swam in the bay in ten years and was reintroduced to the shark-infested, chilly and rough waters at 7am in the morning. A recent Discovery Channel show identified the bay area as right in the middle of the Red Triangle- an area where great whites were known to feast! This time it was not as chilly (thanks to the legal booties I was wearing) and not as rough (but the calmer waters were still chafe producing). I came out of the water in around 33 minutes: 266^th place out of 1500 athletes- not so great but I was enjoying the race too much at this point. I kept telling myself, “this isn’t too bad!” and actually forgot I was racing for a moment!

T1 is actually T1a in this race as we had a longer run to our bikes. I quickly shed my wetsuit and donned “sneakers” (as they called them on the IMG telecast) sans socks prior to starting the brisk jog to T1b. The booties saved my feet from the sand which would have acted like sandpaper to my numb feet inside my “sneakers”. It took me most of the half-mile to unroll my arm warmers up my forearms due to the numbness of my hands.

The bike was different from the course set in 1997. No longer did we battle brutal headwinds along the Pacific Coast Highway but in its place were the bumps and pot-holes of Golden Gate Park. Still present were the tight turns and countless short but steep hills with which we had to contend (there was even a case of a collision which resulted in two athletes taken to the hospital). I maintained my momentum well, pushing hard up & over the crest of the hills while recovering on the downhills before spinning out along the brief flat sections between hills. I was pleased with my 18.6mph average (40.6mph max) on the difficult course.

After a quick T2 in 1:30, I began the run. We have been racing in Newton shoes this year and this proved not to be such a good choice for this particular course. Although my run felt efficient on the flat paved sections, they were a little unstable on the single-track and trails and horrible in the sand. Unfortunately, the latter sections made up most of the course. The large, airy ventilation holes in the uppers literally sucked in the sand whereby my shoes filled up to perhaps twice their weight halfway through the run. My sand ladder split was a dismal 2:51 (compared to a blistering 1:39 by the top male pro). Nevertheless, I moved my way up to 167^th overall out of 1545 by the end of the run, a far cry from the 16^th overall placing I enjoyed ten year prior but my total time fit in just between my 1996 and 1997 results.

Regardless of my performance, I enjoyed the thrilling race which constantly provided breathtaking vistas around each corner- the problem was I never got my breath back!” said Sherwick.